Jewel Envy Student Exhibition

That’s my blurry silver cuff there on the bottom left of the postcard. But check out that ring second from the left. I’m told that guy made that ring in his first class. How annoying is that? I love it! It reminds me of a ring I fell in love with about 20 years ago, but never bought, by a guy named Ivaan who had a small shop on Queen West with a sign out front that said “Getting Married? Come in here before he buys you a slice of pipe with a rock in it.” Yessss. He made really cool rings, one of which indeed became my wedding ring and it looks nothing like a slice of pipe. But the other ring I loved was a large calla lilly with a shard of purple amethyst crystal nestled inside as the stamen. It seemed far too delicate and fragile to actually wear. But Dirk Ave’s (Dirk Ave! — even his name is cool) has made a version that seems really wearable.

Anyway, here’s a better picture of my silver geometric cuff:

I made the cuff in a Beginner’s Fabrication class from a sheet of silver from which I cut out triangles, half circles, and a rectangle. I love wearing this piece.

The other two pieces I’ve got in the show are my Queen of Hearts rings (yeah, I know…they made me give them names when I entered them in the exhibit 😛 ) were from my Beginner’s Casting Class, in which we learned how to do the lost-wax casting process. I blogged about making these pieces here and here. I really enjoyed lost wax casting…something about pouring red-hot molten metal in a process that could go horribly wrong and destroy all the hard work you did carving the form makes me feel all bad-ass Lord of the Rings-ish. Lucky for me, these two rings came through the casting process really well.

So Friday’s opening night should be a fun opportunity to hang out at the studio and have a couple of drinks and admire all the amazing work the artisans and students at Jewel Envy create. Come by if you’re in Toronto! Or, feel free to vote for your favourite piece. Do check them out! Lots of fantastic designs.